Electrically controlled starting box



oct. 27, 1942. J. P. HooBiN ETAL 2,300,120

ELECTRICALLY CONTROLLED STARTING BOX Oct. 27, 1942. .1. P. HOOBIN ETAL 2,300,120

ELECTRIGALLY CONTROLLED STARTING BOX Filed May 25, 1941 :s sheets-sheet 2v Oct. 27, 1942.

J. P. HOOBIN ET AL .ELECTRICALLY coNTRoLLED STARTING Box 3 Sheets- Sheet 5 Filed Mayv 23, 1941 Patented Oct. 27, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELECTRICALLY ooNTtioLLED STARTING James Paul Hoobin, Boston, and William P. Mc-

Manus, Reading, Mass.

Application May 23, 1941, Serial No. 394,804

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a starting box for racing dogs wherein the opening of the doors of the dog compartments is controlled by the position of the carriage-lure on the track along which it travels.

The object of our invention is to provide a door-opening device that may be applied to existing equipment without change for automatically opening the starting box doors by a circuit completed by the lure-carriage at any desired point along the track.

In the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specication,

Figure 1 is a fragmentary front elevation of one end of a starting box of the kind now in universal use with our invention applied thereto, the several parts being shown in position to maintain the doors in closed position.

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the position of the parts when the door-closing means are in inoperative position and the doors are opened.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan View of the end of the box when the parts are in door-closing position.

Fig.l 4 is a section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is afragmentary rear elevation.

Figs. 6 and 7 are diagrammatic representations of circuits and apparatus constructed in accord* ance with our invention, whereby the starting box doors are opened electrically.

Referring to Figs. 1-5, inclusive, IB is a portion of a vertically disposed frame forming part of the front of the starting box which contains a number of stalls or compartments, the side wall of one of which is indicated at 60 and the roof thereof at I0', each such stall being closed by a pair of doors II, I2, hinged to the door frames II', I2', set into the front portion I0 0f the box. Disposed above said doors are two door-locking bars I3, I4, the bar I3 having swiveled connection indicated at I5 to each right-hand door II; and the bar I4 having swiveled connection indicated at I6 to each left-hand door I2. Disposed above said bars is a beam I8 hingedly connected to the frame I0 and carrying at its outer end ngers, I9, I9', said fingers being in engagement with the outer faces of the bars I3, I4, when the beam is in horizontal or door-closing position, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 4.

Secured to the lower bar I4 is one end of a tension spring or resilient cable I4 usually consisting of an aeroplane rubber cord, the other end of which is connected to a post (not shown) outstanding from the left-hand end of the box.

Similarly, a corresponding resilient member I3 has one end attached to the bar I3 and the other to a post I4" extending outwardly from the righthand side of the box. As will be obvious, the member I8, shown as a beam will, unless means are provided to maintain it in door-closing posi tion, be swung upwardly about its hinges 20 when said bars I3 and I4, acting under the tension of the elastic members I3', I4', are moved outwardly and to the right and outwardly and to the left, respectively, and thereby act on said fingers I9 depending from the outer edge of said beam.

To maintain the beam IS in door-clo-sing position (shown in Fig. 1) a locking arm 2I, hinged to the frame I3, as indicated at 22, is swung from its normal position, shown in Fig. 2, to the position indicated in Fig. l, at right angles to the frame III, wherein it prevents such upward swinging movement of the beam I3. When the lure reaches the proper position on the track, the arm 2| is swung manually to its normal position in alignment with the frame I3.

The equipment above briefly described and illustrated in outline without details is now in general use, but is subject to certain defects and limitations due chiefly to the manual operation of the arm 2l. Our invention comprises means for eliminating the irregularities due to the manual operation of said equipment, such, for example, as premature or tardy opening of the doors with respect to the position of the lure carriage. To this end we provide the following apparatus and circuit arrangements:

Any suitable electrically actuated latching means 30 which may be an electrical door opener of known construction is arranged to hold the locking arm 2I in its operative position (Fig. 1), the bottom of said arm sliding over the inclined edge of the latch 3I, thereby depressing it, in moving from the position shown in Fig. 2 to that illustrated in Fig. 1. The latch member 3I of the latchng means is urged upwardly by the spring 6I and the solenoid thereof is connected by the wires a and b to the track elements, as indicated in Figs. 1, 6 and '7. One end of the tension spring 32 is secured to an arm or other suitable support 33 extending from the rear of the frame I0, and the other end is attached to the rear face of the arm 2|. Therefore, when said arm is in doorclosing position, it is held by the bolt 3| against v the tension of said spring and when said bolt is It will be understood, of course, that any suitable electrically actuated latching means may be employed and that the particular device herein shown is merely illustrative. It will be understood also that said latch may be attached to the arm 2| and co-operate with 4a catch in the beam I8.

In Figs. 6 and 7, the latch 3i) is shown in the form of a solenoid which when energized will cause the bolt to be retracted within the central bore surrounded by the winding.

The usual rail track is shown at 4B and the usual third rail at 4 I, to which are connected the respective terminals of the source 42 through the switch 43 and rheostat 44, whereby the speed of the lure-carriage is governed. The lure-carriage is shown at 45 and carries the lure, usually a stuffed rabbit d6, on an arm extending into the space in which the greyhounds race. The electric motors propelling the carriage are of course grounded on the rails 46 in the usual way, and one terminal of the motor is connected to the third rail by the shoe M.

At the appropriate point in the track, one section thereof, 4S, is insulated from the rest of the track. Obviously, there may be several such points along the track, the particular position thereof being governed by the length of the race.

In Fig. 6 each of the rails of the track is provided with an insulated section and each such section is connected to one of the terminals of the solenoid 3l), the other terminal being connected to the third rail. As soon as the forward wheels of the lure-carriage connect the rearward end 49 of the insulated sections with the adjacent ends 5U of the tracks, the circuit of the solenoid 3G will be closed and will remain closed until after the rear wheels of said carriage have passed the forward ends 5l of said insulated section. In this way, the circuit of the motor actuating the carriage is not broken and there is no variation in the speed of said carriage when the latter is passing over the insulated section d8.

As shown in Fig. '7, one rail only may be provided with an insulated section, and in such case, the length thereof is independent of the distance between the wheels of the lure-carriage, although, as will be obvious, the insulated sections in Fig. 6 must be shorter than the distance between the wheels of the carriage, as otherwise the motor circuit would be broken momentarily and the speed of the carriage reduced.

By means of the arrangements herein described, especially that shown in Fig. '7, it is possible to secure positive actuation of the latching device, for the reason that the circuit thereof is closed for a substantial period while the wheels of the lure-carriage are in contact with the insulated section 48.

Having thus described illustrated embodiments of our invention without, however, limiting the same thereto, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination in a starting box for racing dogs of a frame, a plurality of doors supported by said frame, resiliently controlled means for urging said doors to open position, a member hingedly connected to said frame above said doors and having restraining fingers for maintaining the doors in closed` position, an arm hinged to said frame above said member and swingable thereacross to restrain said member from upward movement to release the doors; resilient means for normally holding said arm disengaged from said member and means for locking said arm in engagement with said member, said member being swingable upwardly automatically by the action of said resiliently controlled means to release the doors when said arm is released by said looking means.

2. The combination in a starting boX for racing dogs of a frame, a plurality of doors supported by said frame, resiliently controlled means for urging said doors to open position, said means comprising door-locking bars having swivel connection with said doors, a member hingedly connected to said frame above the doors and having ngers restraining said bars from outward movement, said member being swingable upwardly to release the doors, an arm hinged to said frame above said member and swingable thereacross to prevent the same from moving upwardly, locking means for locking said arm in door-closing position, and resilient means for disengaging said arm from said member when said locking means is released, whereby said member is swung upwardly automatically by the pressure of said bars against said lingers.

0 JAMES PAUL HOOBIN.

WILLIAM P. MCMANUS. 

